With the annual Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game set for
Saturday night at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla.,
its time to hand out some mid-season awards.

All of the below individuals, except for the coaches, will be at
the all-star weekend festivities, which are highlighted by the game
and halftime skills competition at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The format
returns once again to "Old School" versus "Young Guns." (Full rosters here.) It will be the
first event at FAU's new athletic stadium and televised live on
ESPN2.

Mid-Season Rookie of the Year

Matt Gibson, A, Long Island Lizards

There was one rookie to make the All-Star Game this year and he
is Matt Gibson, the Long Island attackman and recent graduate of
Yale. He's been named league rookie of the week twice and is third
on the Lizards with 20 points on 10 goals and 10 assists.

Originally drafted by the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the fifth round
(No. 38 overall) of January's pre-college season draft, Gibson was
traded to Long Island in February as part of a three-way deal involving John Grant Jr. and
Rochester's Grant Catalino. Clearly Gibson was the
least-known name of that bunch. Although he was an honorable
mention All-American his junior season at Yale (20 goals, 16
assists), Gibson was inexplicably left off any All-American list
this season after having a better senior year (28g, 33a; Yale won
the Ivy League tournament and made the NCAA tournament).

Self-admittedly, Gibson had no idea what his pro potential would
be, he said this week. Even after being traded to Long Island.
Fellow attackman Ryan Young, whom he knew from Chaminade (N.Y.)
High and club ball on Long Island, was on the roster, but that
alone couldn't foreshadow Gibson would be the leader at the
midpoint of the season for rookie of the year. But Gibson has
jelled with Young and another Long Island native rookie, Tommy
Palasek, while veteran Brian Langtry has provided a veteran
leadership role on and off the field.

Long Island sits at 5-2 in the first half after an offseason of
change in several areas of the organization: personnel (gone are
long-time stalwarts Nicky Polanco and Brian Spallina, Matt Danowski
and Stephen Berger), coaching (assistant Joe Spallina took over)
and ownership.

"I wasn't sure what my draft status would be, or where my place
would be once I got traded to the Lizards," Gibson said this week.
"I fell into a good situation. They were clearing house and looking
for some young guys to come in. But even at that point, I wasn't
sure what was going to happen. I showed up to practice and they let
me know they wanted to step in. Going into the first game I didn't
know what to expect, but everybody around me has made is easy.
Seeing the people around me it's not that surprising. It takes a
lot of pressure of me.

"The main difference for me is adjusting to a new team and a new
role," he said. "I'm getting into the swing of things. In college,
I was the quarterback on the offense and a lot of things went
through me. In the MLL, everyone on the offense can get it done in
their own way. For me, it's been puzzle-piecing myself around these
guys that are so talented. It's been a privilege to step into the
offense and play a role right away."

The rookie of the year race isn't over yet, though. Keep
watching Steele Stanwick (Ohio) and Mark Matthews (Denver), among
others.

MVP and Offensive Player of the Year

Paul Rabil, M, Boston Cannons

It's Rabil's MVP award to lose. His 46 points are tops in the
league by a difference of 15 over Denver's Brendan Mundorf and
Chesapeake's Kyle Dixon, whose 10 2-point goals help him in the
overall point standings. Rabil has 17 goals, 25 assists and three
game-winning goals and appears to be in line to win his third MVP award in four seasons, and
third offensive player of the year
honors. He's on pace to break John Grant Jr.'s
single-season points record of 71 in 12 games in 2007.

Defensive Player of the Year

Brodie Merrill, D, Hamilton Nationals

The reigning six-time defensive player of the year is champ
until someone knocks him off. Merrill set the league's career
ground balls record this season, passing faceoff specialist Paul
Cantabene (538), in Hamilton's third game of the season.

Goalie of the Year

Jordan Burke, G, Boston Cannons

Statistically, Burke is the league-leader in save percentage
(57.8), goals against average (9.57) and minutes played (476:42).
Maybe he still feels slighted for not winning MLL goalie of the
year last season, with Long Island Drew Adams' taking the honor by
two points in the voting by head coaches and general managers.

Faceoff Specialist of the Year

Chris Eck, M/FO, Boston Cannons

Faceoff specialists are their own breed, and to me, each of the
team's takers deserve an award each week. I'll go with Chris Eck as
tops thus far. He's slightly behind Long Island's Greg Gurenlian in
win percentage (59.5 to Beast's 60.9) but Eck can be a threat
offensively as well (nine shots, six on goal, four goals for a 44.4
percent shooting percentage).

Also in contention: Gurenlian, Matt Dolente (Hamilton).

Second-Year Pro(s) to Watch

The first year of an MLL career can be a whirlwind —
stepping out of the college season or senior class trip and hopping
a flight to your first MLL game. Some guys don't really get a fair
shake as rookies, while others are just more comfortable in the
second season, and improve.

Brian Karalunas leads the pack for a potential
most improved award, and it wasn't like he was bad as a rookie.
He's had an amazing second season, given his position switch from
long-stick midfield (where be built his reputation at Villanova) to
close defense after the departures of Long Island's veteran
backline. At the new spot, he's shut down the league's best:
Brendan Mundorf (one assist), Ryan Boyle (zero points), Billy
Bitter (zero points), Chazz Woodson (two goals). The most
impressive performance was against Boyle, whom Karalunas held
without a point for the second time in Boyle's nine-year
career.

Others to watch: Jordan McBride (Denver), Stephen Keogh
(Hamilton), Kevin Crowley (Hamilton), Steve DeNapoli (Rochester),
Dolente (Hamilton), Adam Rand (Chesapeake), Adam Ghitelman
(Charlotte), Jovan Miller (Charlotte), John Galloway (Rochester),
Grant Catalino (Long Island), Jeremy Sieverts (Denver) is in his
third year in the league but played in no games in 2011; same with
Jimmy Connolly (Ohio).

Coach of the Year

Joe Spallina, Long Island Lizards

For a team that didn't have a coach in place or in attendance at
January's pre-college season draft, the Lizards are doing pretty
well for themselves under Spallina. Long Island is 5-2, in second
place and has won five straight games heading into the all-star
break. Spallina has talked all season about the Lizards being a
young, up-and-coming team that hopefully will develop
chemistry and stay together in the mold of the defending league
champion Boston Cannons. He loves talking to the media about the
talents of all his players, but especially the young guys (Gibson,
Karalunas, Catalino, Palasek, CJ Costabile, Tim Henderson, Ryan
Young) who should expect to be around the organization for a while.
One can only imagine he tells the players the same things.

Chesapeake's Dave Cottle is a close second,
with an argument for first. The Bayhawks are 7-1 and in first
place. In the broader scope, Cottle has had the vision to think of
the 2-point shot as a consistent part of the game, beyond a
once-in-a-while, take-it-if-it's there shot, novelty or
desperation, late-game option. He's certainly the first I've heard
evoke the thought of Rick Pitino's 3-point
philosophy when that line made its debut in college basketball in
1987. The Bayhawks have scored 18 2-pointers, and are
on pace to break the Boston Cannons' league record of 25 two's in a
season (2002). Charlotte is the next closest with nine.

Championship Favorite

Chesapeake Bayhawks

The Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game is set for 7:30 p.m.
Saturday night at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla.,
and will be shown live on ESPN2.